A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

An elderly Buddhist monk travelling from Sianfu encounters an immense hollow tree near Kuku-Nor. A barefoot girl in a red coat, with loose hair and extraordinary speed, asks him to hide her from a pursuer. She shelters inside the tree. The monk initially denies seeing her when a gold-clad rider arrives on an armoured horse capable of travelling through air or over ground at the same speed.

The rider identifies himself as a messenger from heaven and says that the girl is a flying ogre, among many varieties that harm people. He claims a command from the Lord of the Heavens and says thousands of officers are searching for her. These accusations explain his pursuit within the account; the monk does not himself witness the girl harming anyone. Persuaded by the messenger, he reveals her hiding place.

The rider drives his horse up through the hollow trunk. A small red flame emerges above the tree, pursued by him, and both disappear into the clouds. A later fall of blood leads the narrator to conclude that the ogre was probably shot or captured; the outcome is not directly witnessed. The monk is said to have told the scholar who recorded the story, but neither is personally named here. The collection’s note classes the fugitive as Yakscha. Unlike the preceding pagoda captor, she is not described with visible wings, fangs or a monstrous face.

Appears as a barefoot red-coated girlHides inside a hollow treeFlight ends beyond the observer’s sight
01

Origins & earliest records

Chinese tales mediated by Richard Wilhelm and Frederick H. Martens

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale and its attached source note read in the retained1921-edition transcription.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    The Chinese Fairy Book

    Richard Wilhelm, editor; Frederick H. Martens, translator · 1921

    The Flying Ogre, pp.199–200; New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Complete historical translated tale

Richard Wilhelm/Frederick H. Martens, The Chinese Fairy Book (Stokes1921)

Ghost Stories. The Flying Ogre, pp.199–200

Full narrative/ending/note read in wilhelm-LVIII.txt and29939.html. Witnessed appearances separated from pursuer accusation and inferred outcome; no anatomy borrowed from adjacent story.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical translated taleWilhelm/Martens, The Chinese Fairy Book, The Flying Ogre, pp.199–200Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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